This invention relates to water shields for motor vehicle doors, and more particularly to a rigid, injection molded water shield and seal.
Doors for motor vehicles normally have openings through which components such as door locks and handles are mounted. In order to prevent water from penetrating from the outside of the door through the door openings, water shields are typically provided. Often such water shields are formed from a flexible membrane. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,803 shows a water deflector with wire harness seal. During application of a flexible water shield to the vehicle door, however, problems often arise with proper orientation of the water shield and completing its seal with the door.
Rigid water shields are also known, and have fewer orientation problems because they are frequently equipped with built-in retainer clips that mate with predetermined locations on the door. However, forming rigid water shields presents certain problems. Principally, a seal must be applied to the rigid water shield in a costly and time-consuming secondary operation.
The present invention is a method of forming a water shield for a motor vehicle. The method comprises providing a mold having the general shape of the water shield and also having a movable core, and injecting into the mold a first plastic to form a substrate of the water shield. The core is then withdrawn, and a second plastic is injected in a continuous, closed loop bead into the mold and proximate the first plastic. The plastics are cooled to form a substrate having a first durometer and to form a sealing gasket having a second durometer softer than the first durometer.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a method of the type described above which provides a seal and a rigid water shield in the same molding operation.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method of the type described above which allows application of the water shield to the vehicle door with decreased chance for operator application error.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a water shield formed by the method described above.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.